Local Fijians say a better way for the New Zealand Government to help the victims of recent floods in in the county is to let them work in New Zealand, and not giving aid money according to an article published in the New Zealand Herald. A meeting today will finalise a petition that has been circulating online among the Fijian community since Saturday. The petition will ask Prime Minister John Key to issue special directions for one-year work visas for flood victims, and for an equivalent to the Pacific Access Category for Fiji citizens in New Zealand to lodge application for residence. The government is unlikely to respond positively however, as it still maintains sanctions that prevent Fijian workers from participating in the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme.

New Zealand’s aid to Fiji so far has been pathetic, as a letter published in the Dominion Post points out, New Zealand “gave more in special aid to Tonga to buy its support for dismissing Fiji from the Pacific Island Forum.” something which is being pushed by New Zealand and Australia and is expected to happen at a meeting of Pacific Leaders today. Fiji’s floods were, according to Crosbie Welsh of the University of the South Pacific in Suva;

the worst in human memory. Many towns and cities are without drinking water. Thousands of people are homeless. Sugar and food crops have been ruined, and roads and bridges damaged. Damage in Nadi alone is estimated at $100 million.

The New Zealand government is using its dominance in the Pacific region to make political power plays, while ordinary Fijians with no connection to the military regime suffer, denied both meaningful aid and work opportunities.